What Would You Do?
by Joni Smith
Summary: Inspiration came to me after watching the ending of Love Never Dies. If I had been in the ending scene, what would I have done? Let's just pretend that Erik and Christine already know me and Meg doesn't. This is only a story after all. We can be creative! R&R and PM me with what you would do. T for near death situations and child endangerment.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Inspiration came to me after watching the ending of _Love Never Dies._ If I had been in the ending scene, what would I have done? Let's just pretend that Erik and Christine already know me and Meg doesn't. This is only a story after all. We can be creative! BTW, my name in this story is "Kat".  
_I DON'T OWN LOVE NEVER DTES OR ANY SONGS USED IN THIS STORY! _  
**

Meg had Gustave and that alone scared me. The only thing that terrified me more was that she had a loaded gun with her, too. She could kill him without Erik or Christine even knowing. "I know where they've gone," Erik was saying, "but we have to hurry!"

"No!" I blurted out. "Let me go."

They stared at me like I'd gone crazy, and maybe I was. I was thinking that me, a teenager, was going to go after a very dangerous and crazy woman with a loaded gun while a child's life was at stake? Who did I think I was? MacGyver? And to top it off it was Erik's child. "You can't," Christine cried. "If it's true that Meg does have a gun with her then she'll shoot you or Gustave if you try to intervene. I can't let you risk your life, or my child's."

Christine was my model mother; caring, sweet and concerned 24/7 for her child's safety. Not that I wouldn't be. After all, I wouldn't want my kid with a crazy lady who happens to be carrying a gun. "If the both of you go and confront Meg right now she'll be more tempted to shoot you, Erik, and Gustave. But if I go then I can distract her for a few moments and try to get the gun away from her. Then Erik can sneak up behind her with his amazing Phantom of the Opera awesomeness and save everyone." The plan sounded great in my head and even as I said it. "Erik," I turned to the former Opera Ghost. "If you want to see your son alive tomorrow morning I suggest you let me go on ahead while you, Christine, and Madame Giry follow close behind."

Erik would know it was dangerous, but danger was no stranger to him. He knew that every moment we stood here the chance of his son's life slipping away was growing greater and greater. After what seemed like hours he nodded his head and I took off through the crowded Phantasma attractions. Colors swirled and people beckoned me to come inside and be amazed and entranced. I didn't hear any of it. I pushed and shoved my way through the crowded side-show. Finally, I reached a peaceful place. I'd arrived at the dock. It was foggy and the air chilled me to the bone. A voice suddenly echoed through the stillness. "Miss Giry! I can't swim!"

The voice was scared and small. "Gustave..." I breathed.

As I crept closer to the dock I heard it coming from, two figures appeared out of the mist. One was petite but had a graceful figure with blond hair piled messily upon her head and was wearing a crinkled blue dress. The other figure was short with dark, almost black hair and green eyes that flashed with fear through the foggy darkness. Meg was leading him up to the edge of the dock singing a song about how the sea would put him to sleep and comfort him in it's warm in embrace. Gustave fought but Meg's was iron. She was crazy enough to harm a child. I had to act now before the boy got any closer to the dock's edge. "Meg!" I called out as I ran toward the pair.

Her head whipped around and she squinted through the mist. "Who are you?" she screamed. I heard the gun cock. "Show yourself!"

I broke through the mist until I could see both figures clearly. I put both hands at the level of my eyes. "Please," I pleaded with her. "We don't have to do this. If you let Gustave go I'll take him back to his parents and you won't have to go through any legal trouble."

I didn't think it would be that easy but it was worth a shot. Meg regarded me with cold, dead blue eyes. "Why would I do that? So _he _will go back to ignoring me and completely doting on his _Angel of Music_?" Her voice was a hiss and cold as the north wind.

"Please," I begged quietly. "Just let the boy go. He's done nothing wrong. Give me the gun and let the boy go." Gustave whimpered quietly and squirmed a little in an attempt to get away from Meg.

"You want me to let him go?" Meg sneered. "Well I will!"

Gustave's scream echoed through the still night. Before I even knew what I was doing adrenaline coursed through my veins and my only objective was to get Gustave out of the water. I barely heard the gun go off behind me, nor did I know if the bullet was intended for me. I dove into the water and tried to find Gustave. I screamed his name into the night. There was no noise. I listened for splashing but there was none to be heard. I submerged and opened my eyes underwater. The lights from the Phantasma illuminated the water and offered a way to see a short distance ahead. I came for air and then dove back under the waves. The search seemed to go on forever and I was afraid he had drowned. But finally-finally!- I saw a small body struggling to return to the surface and slowly sinking deeper into the water. I came up for one final breath and then dove far enough to reach the small boy flailing in the sea.

Twenty minutes later, I dragged the small, shivering body of Gustave onto the shore of Coney Island. I turned him over onto his back and opened his mouth. Then I picked him up as best I could and thwacked his back. Hacking coughs soon rose from his throat along with great amounts of water. I rubbed his back gently and soothed him while he coughed up the water. Voices were soon heard and came closer. "Gustave!" Christine and Erik came running up the beach all propriety forgotten in concern for their son. Christine reached us first and Erik held back. At first I was confused. Then I remembered. _Gustave still doesn't know Erik is his real father. _Christine was fretting over her shivering son, inspecting every inch of him to make sure he was just wet and not seriously damaged. Erik came over to me and pulled me into a bone crushing hug. "I can never repay you for what you've done for me, my son, and my Christine."

He pulled away from me and I saw a huge red stain on the white shirt under his black jacket. "Erik," I muttered. "Did Meg's bullet hit you?"

"No," he said slowly. "I didn't feel any...thing..." He trailed off and looked at my left shoulder.

He grabbed my shoulder and squeezed. A wave off white-hot pain shot through my nerves and I thought I would black out. Erik's hand came away covered in blood. "Christine," he screamed. "Get the doctor! Hurry! Kat's been shot!"

I heard a faint rustle of a dress moving over the sand as I felt Erik's arms gently lowered me onto the beach. He kept telling me what he was doing to help me, that help would be here soon, and that I would be alright. A tourniquet was tightly wrapped around my shoulder, but the pain didn't stop. That could mean that the bullet was lodged in my shoulder or the bullet had fallen out and the bone was broken or, God forbid, shattered. Minutes turned to hours and my shoulder kept throbbing. Erik did his best to numb the pain with a small phial of morphine that he kept in his pocket for extreme situations. Gustave had joined us and was holding my hand while trying to find out what was wrong with me. "I'm going to be alright Gustave. Once your mother gets back the doctors will take me to the hospital and make me all better. But I need you concentrate on getting warm. Erik, give him your coat please."

Without hesitation, Erik handed over the long black coat and threw it over his son's shoulders. Gustave pulled it tight around him. "Sing?" I asked simply.

Erik looked surprised but did as I asked. The song couldn't have been more beautiful if an angel had come down from heaven and sung the song himself.

"Nighttime sharpens,

Heightens each sensation.

Darkness stirs,

And wakes imagination.

Silently the senses

Abandon their defenses..."

My eyelids felt so heavy. I could hear voices off in the distance. They grew fainter and I could only make out small chunks. "...she shot...might live...needs medical care immediately..."

Then nothing...

**A/N: OMG! I don't know if I will live!  
****Naw, killing myself could result in negative reviews so a near-death situation was good enough. Next chapter will be up very soon. Check out my profile in a week for news about my new Hetalia fanfic series!  
****Pasta and love to you all!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I sincerely apologize for the long waits between chapters. School is hectic. Next chapter of _Wandering Children _should be up soon!  
_I DON'T OWN LOVE NEVER DIES OR ANY SONGS USED IN THIS STORY! _**

Bright white light streamed into my cracked open eyes. I groaned. "Go away Mr. Sun. My whole arm already hurts, my eyes don't need to be added to the list."

"I'm pretty sure the worst pain is over," a deep voice commented.

Erik was sitting by my bedside and had probably been there all night. Christine had Gustave in her lap and she was asleep on Erik's shoulder. The only thing I could remember from last night was that I had been shot and had passed out before the doctors could get me to the hospital. "What exactly are they giving me?" I asked. "Because there is relatively no pain in my shoulder at all."

Erik gave a small snort. "Nothing like a good healthy dose of morphine to take away physical pain."

I sighed and snuggled into my pillows. Thick white gauze bandaged my left shoulder all the way down to my wrist. "So," I inspected my shoulder and tested to see how much I could move it. "Can you give me the short version of my near death experience and what happened to me?"

The short version: Christine had rushed the doctors to me, they had rushed me to the 1881 version of a New York hospital, removed the bullet, patched up the wound, and put me to bed. All in all, my night couldn't have been better! "One last question," Erik looked up expectedly. "Does he know?" I gave my head a small jerk toward Gustave.

Erik knew exactly what I was implying. He adjusted ever so slightly to look at his sleeping son. His almost black hair and pale complexion matched his mother's and father's characteristics so perfectly it was impossible to even think that he was Raoul's son and not Erik's. "No," he sighed. "We haven't, and I don't know if I will ever be comfortable with him knowing his father is a monster."

I wanted to shout with frustration. Even after a night of love resulting in a child, Erik still believed he was a monster undeserving of anyone's love. Not that anyone could really blame him. He'd already had his heart heart ripped to shreds once and then after one night all the happiness he'd ever wanted had been in his grasp, only to have it taken away from him, but this time by his own hand. Now he had everything but he was too scared to tell his only son that what he had been told about his parentage had been a lie. "He still thinks Raoul is his father and that you..."

"He still believes that I am a monster."

"You just misunderstood. He can still see the beauty underneath. All Gustave needs is time."

"How much time?" Erik wrung his hands. "What if never sees me? The real me? The man I've always wished I could be."

"Would you feel better if I was there when you and Christine tell him or would like to tell him after this whole ordeal is over?"

Erik looked at me. I imagined I must have looked like hell with new scars and bruises. "Yes." He nodded his head a couple times. "Yes, I want you to be there."

"When will you tell him?" I asked.

"Now."

NOW?! "Erik," I stammered. "Are you sure you want to do this now? I mean Christine and Gustave are both asleep and everything-"

"No," he said firmly. "It's time for the boy to know the truth."

I sank back into the pillows. _I guess I never knew how inspirational I was_, I thought. Erik jostled his shoulder and Christine awoke from sleep. He murmured words into her ear. From the look on her face I could tell that he was serious about going through with this. Telling Gustave could meant the destruction of everything he had ever known. But it also meant the creation of the family he should have had. A moment's decision later Gustave was awake, bright eyed and bushy tailed. Erik stood with his back to his almost happy family. I watched both parties carefully. Christine took a deep breath. "Gustave." The child looked at her with his big green eyes. "Who is your father?"

Gustave looked a little confused. "My father is the Vicomte de'Changy. Why do you ask Mother? You know who my father is."

Christine looked straight into her son's eyes. "Yes, Gustave. I know who your father is and it's not Raoul."

"But then, who is it?"

"He's right over there." Christine gestured over to where Erik stood, facing the wall. "Go say hello."

"But Mother," Gustave whimpered. "It's Mister Y and he scares me." Erik visibly flinched. "How could he be my father?"

"I'll tell you when you're older. But let's just say that he's your father because I love him more than Raoul."

Gustave still looked absolutely terrified. He left his mother's side and hid behind my bed. I chortled softly. Christine tried to coax him out, to no avail. "Gustave," I looked behind the bed and motioned for him to come out.

He did so, reluctantly, and stood by my bedside. I wanted to tell him why he should go over there and show his true father the love he deserved but I would probably just turn it into a lengthy explanation that he would soon lose interest in. So I just sang him a song I hoped would open his eyes and heart.

_Look with your heart,  
And not with your eyes.  
The heart can't be fooled,  
The heart is too wise._

_Forget what you see,  
Ignore what you hear.  
Look with your heart,  
It always see clear._

Gusatve looked at me curiously. I inclined my head toward Erik, who stood stock still, facing his son.

_Love is not always beautiful,  
Not at the start._

I gave Gustave the slightest push toward his father. The boy's eyes shone with understanding. He approached his father as a timid child approached something foreign; with curiousity and caution.

_But open your arms,  
And close your eyes tight.  
Look with your heart  
And when it finds love,  
Your heart will be right..._

__And Gustave wrapped his arms around his father. Erik stood there hugging his son as if he would disappear if he let go. Christine walked over and embraced her son and the man she loved. And me? I watched a family, finally united, never to be divided.

**A.N./ Yes the last part was a little cheesy but, hey! what can I say? I hoped you guys liked it!**


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